Lorene Jewell grew up very poor in the foothills of Missouri, but she felt like a million dollars on her 80th birthday when she received a priceless gift – her life story published in a beautiful Heritage Makers storybook. Daughters Karen and Kelly crafted this precious gift and it was recently recognized at the Heritage Makers Reunion event as a 2013 Best of Heritage award winner.

Over the years, Lorene made it a practice to record the stories of her life as a child growing up in Missouri during the Great Depression. She saved these handwritten accounts and also collected photos, documents, and information about her ancestors. It was truly a magic moment when she realized all of that material had been transformed and preserved in a professionally printed book for everyone to see.

“The time and effort I spent on that book was well worth it when I saw the look on Mom’s face when it was presented to her at the birthday party,” says Karen. “It took many months to accomplish, but now I am quite proud of the special project my sister and I created, especially knowing that we started with blank pages. It will become more valuable with each passing year, not in a monetary sense, but in what it means to future generations.”

At Heritage Makers we are so grateful that we can help people celebrate their values, family culture, and memories. It’s one thing to tell your children, “Times were tough, but we made it through.” It’s quite another to take them along on a memorable journey, through pictures and words, to the events and people that shaped their lives.

If you want to give the proverbial “gift that keeps on giving,” write down your stories. Even if you don’t think they’re all that special, even if you don’t consider yourself a hero or role model, even if you’re just an average person, your friends and family will cherish those memories!

And if you want to give a gift that’s priceless, that makes all others pale in comparison, create a Heritage Makers storybook for someone you care about.